GUEST: “Glacier Girl” Recovery Lead Richard Taylor

The outline of a large aircraft is highlighted in the snow by red marker beacons.

While men in parkas watch, a laser cuts through ice and metal in a rotating beam of blue light.

Far below, the laser pierces the ceiling of a vast, ice-rimed room. The cut-out circle of metal falls to the floor. It lands with a thud.

A helmeted man is lowered into the room on a cable.  A second man follows.

The first man swings a flashlight across the dark, cavernous area.

“Base,” says the first man, “we’re in.” The two men look at metal struts that form the skeletal frame of the room.

“What is this?” asks the second man. They walk downhill to some sort of control room. Dark windows cover the far wall.

The first man continues to scan the roof of the structure with his flashlight. He slips on the snow-covered floor but recovers, avoiding falling.

“Watch out,” says the first man.